🥾 Walking route
Clapton Circuit
North Somerset
- 📏 4.8 km · 3 mi
- ⛰ +123 m
- ⏱ 1 hr 15 min
- 🐕 On lead
Walk stats
- Distance4.8 km · 3 mi
- Elevation+123 m
- Duration1 hr 15 min
- DifficultyEasy
- Route typeCircular
- TerrainField paths, woodland tracks and quiet lanes; some low-lying, potentially muddy sections across moorland.
- Best seasonLate spring to early autumn for drier ground; woodland is particularly attractive in bluebell season.
- DogsDog-friendly, but keep on lead near livestock and through the nature reserve.
About this walk
This short circular walk from the village of Clapton-in-Gordano makes an easy half-day outing in the quiet Gordano Valley of North Somerset. Setting off from the village, the route passes The Black Horse, a traditional country pub that sits at the heart of the community, before heading out into gentle farmland and woodland edges.
The path leads down towards Clapton Moor, a low-lying stretch of grazing land beside the Clapton Moor Nature Reserve, where reedy ditches and wet meadows offer a very different feel to the wooded slopes above. From here the circuit climbs gently through Nicholas Wood, with glimpses out across the valley between the trees.
Nearby woodlands including Upper Sidelands, Westpark Wood, Tynings Wood and Parsonage Wood frame the surrounding hillsides, making this a rewarding loop for anyone who enjoys mixing pasture, moor and mature broadleaf woodland in a compact route. At 4.8 km with modest ascent, it is a manageable outing suitable for most walkers, and easy to combine with a pause at the pub.
Route map
Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap footpath data. Numbered markers are waypoints on the route; amber star markers are points of interest a short detour away.
Waypoints along the route
4 waypoints along the way
- 1
Clapton-in-Gordano (start and finish)
- Start / finish
Start and finish of this circular route.
- 2
The Black Horse
- 3
Clapton Moor
- 4
Nicholas Wood
Worth a short detour
Points of interest just off the route, look for the amber markers on the map.
Clapton Moor Nature Reserve
~285 m off the route
Upper Sidelands
~195 m off the route
Westpark Wood
~205 m off the route
Tynings Wood
~275 m off the route
Parsonage Wood
~295 m off the route
Route & waypoint data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).